Describes the Service Manual Project developed by the author to teach his Technical Writing II class to interact with professional literature in a more sophisticated and useful manner. Once technical students begin looking at printed matter they work with day in and day out, they begin analyzing it and seeing it in a different light. They realize that the manuals they are dealing with are written by real people who make decisions about how to place the material on the page - how to connect it to other material - and how to present it to the reader. The project also requires students to apply technical writing basics learned in Technical Writing I and to make critical editorial decisions. Describes the technical writing principles involved: topic headings, "white space", organization, lists, conciseness vs. wordiness, and jargon vs. non-technical terms. Discusses changes created by students such as: reorganizing information in text, applying "white space" to crowded text, rewriting existing information, eliminating wordiness, Spanish translation, and rewriting headings and creating subheadings. Finds that students appreciate someone "outside their area" respecting their vocation, their career focus, and the information that connected them with their training. (VWC)

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews